Well, it had to come – today or tomorrow or a day after. It was inevitable. An author of the stature of Amitav Ghosh is not someone who can be kept aloof from recognition and awards (rewards come eventually). The latest feather in his hat comes from the Indian body of respected literary award – Bhartiya Jnanpith. The 59th Jnanpith Award (2018) for literature has been conferred to Amitav Ghosh for his valuable contribution to literature. Exclaimed by the joy, the author expressed his opinions on Twitter. He expressed his joy and said he could not believe the news when it first came to him.
Amitav Ghosh has become a domestic name in India among the scholars and readers who are familiar with Indian English literature. His works, The Glass Palace, The Hungry Tide, The Shadow Lines and others have been included in various university syllabuses in India as well as other countries. One of the novelists to have been indulged in serious fiction, Amitav’s work captures the essence of human emotions and also reflect the problems, contemporary or otherwise, beautifully. Unlike many others writing in the contemporary hours, Amitav has never shifted his setting from serious to casual or loose.
In a statement released by Jnanpith Body, the author has been praised for his craft and contributions made to literature. He will receive the award in the coming days. Bharatiya Jnanpith award is a very prestigious award that is conferred to the literary personalities from India who have been contributing immensely towards literature. In the past, this award has been won by many of the notable personalities in Indian literature. Some of them are: Mahadevi Varma, Amrita Pritam, Kedarnath Singh, and many others.
However, while applauding the award to Amitav Ghosh, there are also the questions that we need to answer. Amitav Ghosh’s writing cannot be judged relatively, dragging him into the past; however, we can certainly be sure that there were many novelists in English who contributed immensely to Indian English literature – R. K. Narayan, Raja Rao and also Mulk Raj Anand. They were very well writing in the decade and after when the award was established but could never win it! This is something which remains a query for the scholars as well as the ones who win this prestige!
by Awards Desk, Literature News
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